i want to repeat this: mamdani and spanberger have run similar campaigns tailored to their respective electorates and it is maddening to watch political journalists attempt to create some broad contrast where none exist

If anyone needed another reminder of how deeply unpopular the Trump-MAGA Republican agenda is, tonight was the night. But we cannot relent and we cannot become complacent. The midterms are right around the corner.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the nation’s top diplomat, making deals

Want to read what I really think about the Trump administration and the Asia Pacific? Here you go. It’s a goddamn catastrophe for U.S. national interests and for the regional economic and diplomatic order.

Wut. This is actually way more puzzling than Trump's tweet. 🤔 How on earth are we going to build ROK nuclear-powered subs in... *checks notes*... Philadelphia? If it were that easy we wouldn't be having so much difficulty building our own and the ones we owe Australia. www.ft.com/content/a6ee...

On his nearly week-long swing through Asia, President Donald Trump accepted glittering gifts. But there was one thing the president wanted that he didn’t get: a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Free link to our analysis on the one gift that got away: wapo.st/4hx23ba

Private equity gave $10M to Trump's inauguration. He gave them greater access to Americans' 401(k)s. DuPont and Dow Chemical gave $750K. Trump exempted them from an air pollution rule. Intuit gave $1M. Trump killed the IRS Direct File Program. Everything is for sale.

Tuesday, 11/4, 8-9PM ET: Join Director Christina Davis and our Faculty Associates Amy Catalinac, Saori Katada, @adampliff.bsky.social, @lipscy.bsky.social, @profdansmith.bsky.social online to discuss "Japan's Prime Minister Takaichi: What Can We Expect?" munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/japans...

My latest www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/c...

I’m not sure “divided” means what Politico thinks it means. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

So glad that Harvard is continuing its US-Japan Fellowships. Please consider applying!

To recap: Trump is spending money Congress never appropriated to pay federal employees with guns, and cutting programs and grants even when Congress has appropriated funds. They literally have a contingency fund for SNAP that they are refusing to use. No Speaker has done more to weaken Congress.

Paging @darinself.com

There’s now four times as much solar power as the IEA expected 10 years ago. Last year alone, the world installed 553 gigawatts of solar power—roughly as much as 100 million U.S. homes use—which is 1,500% more than the IEA had projected www.fastcompany.com/91430305/ren...

Please apply to join our super-fun and engaged social science community @harvardusjapan.bsky.social at @weatherheadcenter.bsky.social for the next 2026-27 academic year!!

As someone whose professional interests have overlapped heavily with Przeworski's, I felt (and concurred with) this bit: "The brutal fact that we find it so difficult to predict what will happen under our current circumstances is evidence that we do not have theories we can rely on."

I spoke with @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social for this story on Takaichi, which also features great insights from Christina Davis @harvardusjapan.bsky.social, @mireyasolis.bsky.social, @kristigovella.bsky.social, and @sheilasmithcfr.bsky.social thedispatch.com/newsletter/m...

Japanese politics was rocked on Friday as the Kōmeitō announced it would leave its coalition with the LDP after twenty-six years. To understand why this happened and what it means, I wrote a guide for the perplexed. open.substack.com/pub/observin...

Ishiba's address on the eightieth anniversary of the end of the war is really worth reading: japan.kantei.go.jp/content/0001...

This is a big deal. Congrats to Zurich.

Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):

What a day! First the ruling coalition in Japan splits up and now we are gearing back to full trade-export control war on U.S.-China relations 🍿🍿: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

Read Rieko Kage's (2005-06) new article, "Challenging the State? Lawyers and the Reformed Administrative Appeals System in Japan," in the latest issue of Law and Social Inquiry. doi.org/10.1017/lsi....

Watch the video of MJHA's @modernjapanhist.bsky.social annual Distinguished Lecture, delivered by Faculty Associate Andrew Gordon, "After the Pandemic: Revising a Textbook and Rethinking History." youtu.be/EN8tx8J8KzA

Next Monday, 10/6, 12-1 pm: We are excited to feature Amy Catalinac's (2011-12) seminar on her latest book, Dominance through Division, moderated by Noah Nathan @nlnathan.bsky.social! Join us in-person and online: us-japan.wcfia.harvard.edu/event/domina...

Folks look at you like you’re crazy when you say we’re in the midst of the worst, most unprecedented Article I constitutional crisis in 🇺🇸 history, & yet here we are, allowing the One Special Boy to just do whatever he wants regardless of the actual law.

Just started watching Takaichi's presser, and already I'm struck by the banner calling for "[electing] the first female prime minister." That's a striking contrast to last year when I don't recall her playing that up at all.

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce that Ambassador Ivo Daalder has joined the Center as a Senior Fellow.

A complete collapse of political norms around virtue and ethics since 2016. This celebration of cruelty and violence, and the encouragement of the public to take joy in violence against others, is very unhealthy for society.

Today!!!

🎉Now online (open access): "Hidden Majoritarianism and Women’s Career Progression in Proportional Representation Systems" at @apsrjournal.bsky.social. @alicirone.bsky.social, @teele.bsky.social, Gary Cox, @fiva.no. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Happy to see this article now "in print" at @polbehavior.bsky.social 🎉 Open-access: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

R.E.M. “pushed the boundaries” of alternative rock Herbie Hancock “pushed the boundaries” of jazz Trump & RFK Jr. are “destroying public health & will be responsible for killing people” What is journalism, anyway? 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Meet the 2025–2026 affiliates in @harvardusjapan.bsky.social! Their research projects encompass topics ranging from technological innovation to international organizations and more. Read more about the program and the incoming cohort at: https://loom.ly/Was2Eg0

Three big takeaways from Taiwan's recalls: 1. Even though the pro-recall movement was highly mobilized, and the KMT efforts to recall DPP legislators flopped, blue voter networks are not dead or apathetic. KMT voters can and will still mobilize for their party when need be.

Recently released: @kristigovella.bsky.social analyzes the U.S.-Japan trade deal, which includes pledges of investment and market access to meet U.S. demands, and reduced 15% reciprocal and auto tariffs for Japan. Read here: www.csis.org/analysis/ass...

Layoffs under Trump have disproportionately targeted agencies perceived as liberal, while 100% of proposed Republican budget increases went to conservative-leaning agencies Https://data4democracy.substack.com/p/on-data-and-democracy-mid-year-roundup

There’s a Supreme Court case called Trump v. USA that says a former presidents can’t be prosecuted for plausibly official acts. Does Trump not remember this? Or does he assume it only applies to him?

Cycling in Paris has transcended mere trendiness; it’s become a fundamental aspect of the city’s identity. Despite challenges like inclement weather, cyclists continue to flock to the streets, setting new attendance records and reshaping the city momentummag.com/paris-cyclin...

Harvard College, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Replace Diversity Offices Amid DEI Purge www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Jazz OTD: Lee Morgan began 3 nights of recording for his only live album as leader, "Live at the Lighthouse," on July 10, 1970. An eclectic set featuring Bennie Maupin (reeds), Jymie Merritt (b), Mickey Roker (d), and this one's composer, pianist Harold Mabern. The complete set is stellar. #jazzsky

Read "Gendered Expectations for College Applications: Experimental Evidence from a Gender Inegalitarian Education Context," in Research in Higher Education, by Fumiya Uchikoshi @ufsoc.bsky.social, Hirofumi Miwa (2024-25), and Yoshikuni Ono @yoshiono.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1007/s111...

Congratulations to Faculty Associate Tomomichi Amano on his latest book (in Japanese) from Iwanami Shinsho @iwanami.co.jp on how consumers and firms shape diffusion of innovation. ‪https://www.iwanami.co.jp/book/b10136586.html

In the U.S., we do have a generous welfare state—just not for everyone. It’s mostly reserved for those over 65: universal health care (Medicare) and a basic income (Social Security). Why? Seniors vote, donate, and hold office at much higher rates. 🧵⬇️

Check out my new article with @lee_yaechan92! From contest to convergence in East Asia: why do regional challengers end up resembling incumbent institutions? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Trump is once against arsonist and fireman. If he hadn't pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal (which our own State Dept. certified Iran was in compliance with), we wouldn't be here.

The connections between IMMIGRATION and AUTHORITARIANBISM are becoming more obvious and tragic by the day. Our latest issue of Democracy & Autocracy @umichDemocracy tackles these connections head-on, from multiple comparative angles: 1/6 ii.umich.edu/emerging-dem...

Other countries have agency & domestic politics, too 🇨🇦